The couple met in July 2008 through a mutual friend.
“We met for drinks in Washington, just a block from my office, and had a very enjoyable conversation,” Ms. Strug recalled. “He seemed to be a very good listener, and we had a lot in common. He had family in Arizona, which is where I’m from, and we are both rather conservative politically.”
Shortly after that first date, Ms. Strug traveled to Beijing to work with Olympic sponsors, and when she returned in mid-August, she found flowers from Mr. Fischer waiting for her.
“That was pretty awesome,” Ms. Strug recalled. “It’s nice to know someone is thinking of you.”